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Attendees at this week’s WorldDAB Automotive gathering in Paris got a firsthand look at a study conducted by market researcher Edison Research for WorldDAB. Dashboard Dialogue 2023, which looks into radio listening, confirms that radio is the dominant source for audio in the car and that drivers/passengers rely on it and expect it to be there. A summary said, “Reinforcing the need for broadcast radio to remain prominent in the dashboard, the study found that 91% of recent and prospective car buyers said it was important that their recent or next vehicle has DAB/DAB+ or FM radio.” In addition: “82% of prospective car buyers, and 79% of recent car buyers would have been ‘much less’ or ‘somewhat less’ likely to have purchased their recent vehicle if it did not have a radio. Meanwhile 86% of recent/prospective car buyers ‘would really miss having radio in a vehicle if it were no longer available.’”

After years of growth, DAB+ digital radio penetration in European Union (EU) automobiles has reached a stage of “maturity.” That was the message driven home by WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon during his opening presentation at the WorldDAB Automotive 2023 conference. The conference was held in Paris, France, on June 15, with its sessions also being viewable on the web. WorldDAB is the international association promoting the adoption of this digital radio transmission standard around the globe. “DAB+ is now a standard feature in European cars in 2022,” Hannon told conference attendees. “Last year, 96 percent of new cars sold within the European Union came with DAB+ 96 percent. Another way of putting that is that there were 10 million new vehicles on the road with DAB+. And in 2023 this year we’re likely to be closer to 12 million.”

Jiří Duchač, Head of the Frequency Spectrum Management Department of the Czech Telecommunications Office, reported on further progress with the upcoming tender for digital terrestrial radio frequencies intended for commercial radios. On 28 June, the Authority plans to hold a workshop to deal with all comments and inform on the next steps. However, the CTU has not yet set a date for the launch of the tender. "We would still like to select the frequency allocation holders this year," Duchač said. Also, Czech Radio continues to increase its DAB+ network. This year it will launch seven new digital transmitters in Svitavy, Krnov, Ústí nad Labem, Valašský Klobouky, Most, Hradec Králové and Domažlice, said Pavel Balíček, head of signal distribution at ČRo.

On Thursday 15 June, TDF is starting to broadcast DAB+ digital radio around Besançon, Montbéliard and Belfort. The Besançon "local" and Besançon "extended" DAB+ multiplexes will each be able to deliver thirteen digital quality radio stations to the population. TDF is commissioning five broadcasting sites: The TDF site at Montfaucon (Doubs) broadcasts the two multiplexes (local and extended) to the Besançon conurbation. The TDF sites at Belfort-Valdoie (Territoire de Belfort), Besançon-Lomont (Doubs), Montbéliard-Grand-Charmont (Doubs) and the Bregille district in Besançon broadcast the extended multiplex, particularly to the Montbéliard and Belfort conurbations. They also provide coverage of the A36 motorway, which passes through these conurbations, for reception in vehicles.

Launched in 2021 by Arcom (formerly CSA), the third Fête de la Radio will feature concerts, programmes and exhibitions to celebrate this century-old medium, which is accelerating its transition to digital thanks to DAB+, launched in France in 2014. With Hervé Godechot Adviser to the CSA in charge of radio and digital audio Adviser to the CSA in charge of radio and digital audio

It's on! DAB+, digital terrestrial radio, arrived in Franche-Comté on Thursday 15 June. In Besançon and the surrounding area of 87 communes, to start with, thanks to 13 radio stations, mainly associations, grouped together under the same pooling operator, managed by the directors of Villages FM and Radio Campus, Alain Bulle and Martial Greuillet. After five years of effort and occasional setbacks, the group has succeeded in setting up a collective antenna on the Montfaucon mast, ensuring that it reaches a catchment area of 451,420 potential listeners, or even more depending on the terrain. The aim is now to expand towards Pontarlier, Vesoul and Belfort-Montbéliard... A second operator, with wider aims, also broadcasts regionally, including France Bleu and RCF.

An initiative motion on the Private Radio Act was introduced in Parliament, which will give radio providers more opportunities in the digital radio sector. In future, it will be possible for a provider to broadcast 6 DAB+ programmes per coverage area instead of the previous 2. Through the expansion to 6 programmes, the digital transformation is now being accelerated insofar as broadcasters established on the market will be able to offer new digital programmes in addition to existing analogue programmes in the future and thus significantly expand their offering, while on the other hand a broader offering for listeners is guaranteed.

Progress Digital plans to launch its pilot DAB+ multiplex in Benesov and Buchovo during the second half of this year. Jakub Juhas, CEO of Digital Broadcasting, made the announcement at Wednesday's Digimedia 2023 conference. The two companies belong to the portfolio of media group Pohoda, which also operates TV and radio programmes on its own network. "We would like to launch experimental DAB+ broadcasting in the second half of this year. The launch of the two new transmitters is significant for us, not in terms of testing DAB technology, but in terms of the SFN (single frequency network, ed.)," Juhas said, adding that the radio network will include stations Rádia Čas and Čas Roc.

Today, an initiative motion on the Private Radio Act was introduced in Parliament, giving radio providers more opportunities in the digital radio sector. The biggest change is an amendment to § 9 of the Act. Previously, radio operators were restricted in applying for broadcasting licences and could apply for a maximum of 2 DAB+ licences. Now the paragraph will be adapted so that a radio operator can apply for up to 6 DAB+ licences. This applies both to stand-alone stations and to stations in a media network. Currently there are 16 national and 15 regional radio programmes on DAB+ in Austria. Some radio operators would like to broadcast several stations, but this has so far been prevented by the restriction in paragraph 9 of the law. With the amendment to the law, the bundling of several licences with one radio broadcaster is now possible.

Today an important course was set for the further development of digital terrestrial radio in Austria: An amendment to the Private Radio Act will allow private radio broadcasters to broadcast more DAB+ stations than before in addition to their FM programmes. This will promote the expansion of digital terrestrial radio in Austria and broaden the range of Austrian radio programmes broadcast via DAB+. "We welcome this prudent and important proposal by the federal government to promote digital terrestrial radio and thus to safeguard radio diversity in Austria," said Corinna Drumm, Managing Director of the Association of Austrian Private Broadcasters.